TL: Moonlit

Thinking about the fact that humans need to hunt zombies in large quantities to provide energy for weapons, Wen Qingling couldn’t help but frown. Although he needed zombie crystal nuclei to enhance his strength, he hadn’t hunted zombies on a large scale since becoming a zombie himself, except for the time he fought against the “General.” The zombies that died at his hands were all foolish enough to attack him first.

The idea of learning to use crystal nuclei energy like the Central Mega City was beyond Wen Qingling’s capabilities. He would rather go and extract oil.

Hmm… places with oil fields are too far away from Ling City. Relying on oil is not a good solution after all.

Without diesel, crystal nuclei energy couldn’t be used, leaving only two options: primitive farming methods and earth-type ability users.

Wen Qingling pondered, rubbing his chin. Earth-type ability users were very useful; they could till the soil faster than a plowing machine and didn’t require diesel. The earth’s energy they consumed would replenish itself after resting. If there weren’t a scarcity of ability users, Wen Qingling really wanted to hire a group of earth-type ability users for farming.

For now, he could only try to find agricultural machinery and diesel as much as possible. If he couldn’t find them, the only option would be to train mutant cows to plow the fields.

Wen Qingling had people start harvesting beans and spread them out on a flat square to dry. He also had Shi Chong help with tilling the soil, burying the fallen beans back into the ground, and ripening them once again, strictly following the instructions from his “birth father.” The beans did not split open again this time, and the harvest was definitely going to be greater than the first time.

The cultivation area in South City was large, with many crops. Xiao Hen had to temporarily halt other construction in the civilized city and have people come over to harvest the crops before continuing with the construction.

Wen Qingling delegated these matters to Xiao Hen and drove to the Xiang County base to discuss the issues of the walls and the cultivation area with Chang Boheng.

During this period of time, Xiang County had undergone earth-shattering changes. Now, there was only the Xiang County base, as Chang Boheng had brought all the small and large organizations under his control.

When Wen Qingling arrived at Xiang County, he saw a crowded scene of survivors. The base was extremely crowded, with small tents and makeshift huts everywhere, giving a shabby and chaotic appearance.

When Wen Qingling found Chang Boheng, he was leading earth-type ability users in expanding the walls. When he turned and saw Wen Qingling, Chang Boheng was pleasantly surprised. “Dr. Wen… no, Lord Wen, why do you have time to come to Xiang County?”

The recent happenings in Ling City couldn’t be hidden from the surrounding survivors, and Chang Boheng was well aware of it. Moreover, the appearance of the Civilized City was so large that it could be seen from afar.

Wen Qingling’s gaze swept over several earth-type ability users and asked, “How many people are there in the base now?”

Chang Boheng had a beaming smile. Thanks to Lord Wen, the Xiang County base now had nearly fifteen thousand people.

Wen Qingling shook his head. “You can gather all the survivors around Ling City and bring all the survivors in the entire Lan Province under your control to form a super-large survivor base.”

Upon hearing these words, Chang Boheng and the other high-level members of the Xiang County base were all in a dreamlike state, thinking they were hallucinating. To gather all the survivors from dozens of prefecture-level cities, hundreds of county-level cities, nearly a thousand towns, and establish control over the entire Lan Province—did they think they hadn’t died fast enough? With just over ten thousand people in the Xiang County base, the chances of taking control of all the survivors in Lan Province were almost zero.

Chang Boheng: “…”

No, I can’t.

Chang Boheng was terrified, and even his smile was about to collapse. “Lord Wen, are you serious?”

Wen Qingling looked at him calmly and finally found someone even more disheartened than himself. He earnestly advised, “A person should have lofty ideals. As a human, you can’t always think about being a salted fish. Even if it can’t be achieved in the short term, it will eventually be realized. You have to take action and not be lazy.”

Chang Boheng: “…”

Is this about being a salted fish and laziness? This feat was beyond his wildest dreams, let alone realizing it. It completely exceeded his imagination. His legs were weak, his heart trembled, and even his soul was trembling.

Wen Chu managed to remain relatively calm and wasn’t as hopeless as her boyfriend. She took two deep breaths before speaking, “Lord Wen, our capabilities are limited. Building a base for ten thousand people is already a significant achievement. The chances of taking control of all the survivors in Lan Province are very slim, and we can’t do it. Moreover…”

Wen Chu glanced at the chaotic base. “Moreover, our base is too small. It’s already overcrowded with just over ten thousand people. It’s hard to imagine what would happen if we tried to accommodate all the survivors in Lan Province. With a sudden increase in population, food shortage becomes severe, and nearby mutant animals have almost been hunted to extinction.”

When people can’t eat their fill or live in warmth, they are more prone to chaos. If the people who came from the Yue County base weren’t afraid of Wen Qingling and Xiao Hen, they would have probably rebelled by now. Even so, they were filled with complaints and threw all the difficult problems to their leader, wanting to enjoy the benefits without making any effort.Wen Qingling looked at Chang Boheng, and Chang Boheng immediately said, “There will always be chaos in the beginning, give me some time, and I can organize things.”

He had promised this himself. Wen Qingling had already helped them solve the major issues, and the rest were minor problems. Chang Boheng couldn’t let Wen Qingling doubt his abilities.

Wen Qingling said, “You can move back to Xiang County town.”

Ling City was a big city, and the three neighboring counties also had a considerable population. The city had developed well, with many tall buildings. If they could return to the county town, they wouldn’t have to live in such a chaotic environment. Couldn’t they repair the existing buildings?

Everyone: “…”

They wanted to move back, but the zombies in the county town wouldn’t allow it.

If the zombie brothers were willing to give up the city, they wouldn’t have established their base in a remote town away from the county.

Chang Boheng genuinely couldn’t solve the zombie problem. “There are at least several hundred thousand zombies in Xiang County town. We can’t compete with them.”

Wen Qingling said, “That’s simple. I can move the zombies from Xiang County town to the outskirts of the civilized city. You can live in Xiang County, and just like the civilized city, build a tall wall around it. From then on, Xiang County will be your base.”

Upon hearing this, everyone almost jumped up with excitement. They had heard about Dr. Wen’s ability to control zombie hordes, and they had considered the possibility of moving back to Xiang County if Dr. Wen could help drive away the zombies. There were so many tall buildings and houses there, how could their lives be so chaotic?

Someone noticed that Chang Boheng and Wen Qingling seemed to have a good relationship and had asked Wen Qingling for help, but Chang Boheng had refused. He knew that Wen Qingling was not an ordinary person, and he didn’t want this matter to affect Wen Qingling’s impression of him. He would rather personally lead people to expand the base than make such an unreasonable request.

Chang Boheng couldn’t have imagined that Wen Qingling would bring it up himself.

After a long silence, Chang Boheng made up his mind and respectfully said to Wen Qingling, “Lord Wen, if you don’t mind, our Xiang County base is willing to become a subsidiary base of the civilized city. I, Chang Boheng, and all the people in the Xiang County base are ready to obey your commands at any time.”

Wen Qingling had a paralyzed expression, blinking his eyes repeatedly. “I don’t need a subsidiary base.”

Besides, it was a human base. What could he do with it?

Chang Boheng’s expression stiffened, and he led Wen Qingling to the conference room to have a detailed discussion. The top leaders of the base, who were also Chang Boheng’s confidants, accompanied them. It was better not to discuss such matters in public.

Chang Boheng took a stand. “If our base becomes a subsidiary base of the civilized city, we are willing to contribute fifty percent of our total income to the civilized city every month.”

Wen Qingling looked at them skeptically. “You’re so poor that you can’t even eat, and you still have income?”

Everyone present: “…”

It was like rubbing salt on their wounds, not leaving them any face.

Chang Boheng said, “Lord Wen may not know that the Ling City base used to earn a substantial amount of nuclei every day. Survivors outside the base who wanted to live in the base needed to obtain a residence permit, for which they had to pay nuclei. Renting a house also required nuclei. All these nuclei belonged to the base. Any activity within the base required taxation, and that was in the form of nuclei.”

Wen Qingling recalled that when he visited the Ling City base, the entrance fee alone was 10 ordinary nuclei. It was truly expensive.

Wen Qingling hadn’t managed a base seriously, so he wasn’t aware of the intricate details. In his civilized base, he only collected nuclei during the conversion of decaying zombies and when purchasing blood anemone seeds. There didn’t seem to be any other projects that required nuclei payments.

The management methods of human bases were not suitable for civilized bases. After all, when Wen Qingling needed nuclei to improve his strength, the civilized zombies willingly handed over all their nuclei. But in a human base, if the leader needed nuclei to protect the base, who would voluntarily hand over their nuclei? It would probably be impossible to seize them either.

Chang Boheng continued, “As long as we build the base perfectly and don’t actively collect survivors, just by spreading the news about the base, there will be countless survivors flocking to us from far and wide. The base will become more and more prosperous, and the total income will increase. And the amount of nuclei we contribute to you will also increase.”

Wen Qingling: “…”

Oh no, he was starting to feel tempted. What should he do?

Wen Qingling said, “Nuclei are required everywhere, does that mean killing a lot of zombies?”Chang Boheng quickly understood Wen Qingling’s meaning from his words. While others regarded zombies as fierce beasts, Wen Qingling treated them as subordinates. With a single command, the zombie army followed his orders. Killing zombies would be equivalent to killing Wen Qingling’s subordinates.

Although it sounded unbelievable, it was the truth. This could be seen from how Wen Qingling prevented anyone from touching the zombies in the south city base.

Chang Boheng said, “Since the apocalypse began, who hasn’t killed a few zombies for survival? Everyone surely has some nuclei deposits. If Lord Wen doesn’t want nuclei, we can exchange them for something else, equivalent in value.”

Wen Qingling: “…”

No, he still needed nuclei.

Zombies are just like humans. Just as humans can be good or bad, zombies can also be the same. Some zombies even dare to attack Wen Qingling. If they don’t die, who will?

Wen Qingling tried to maintain his composure and said, “Fifty percent might not be possible. We can help you escort the people from the Yue County base and clear the zombies in Xiang County for you. We will also open up a planting area between Xiang County and the civilized city. In that case, we would need… seventy percent of the total income.”

Everyone was stunned. Did the lion’s mouth open a bit too wide?

All eyes turned to the leader, hoping that he would negotiate further with Lord Wen. However, Chang Boheng readily agreed without hesitation, “No problem. Lord Wen said seventy percent, then it’s seventy percent.”

Everyone: “…”

Do you know how much of a bootlicker you look like?

Chang Boheng warned them with his gaze to maintain their composure. He was afraid that Lord Wen would change his mind. The more Lord Wen asked for, the more it showed that the Xiang County base was valued. With the protection of the civilized city, the Xiang County base would be worry-free. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked by zombie tides, and they would even have a planting area.

Chang Boheng reacted, “What kind of planting area?”

Wen Qingling replied, “I will gather the zombies from the outskirts of the civilized city towards the east and west, freeing up the southern area. We can enclose the wilderness between the civilized city and Xiang County with a wall and use it as a planting area. The specific size of the enclosure depends on how big you want it. You can cultivate and be self-sufficient in the planting area.”

Everyone was incredibly shocked.

To live a self-sufficient and peaceful life like that, they didn’t dare to even dream about it. In such an apocalypse, could they really achieve such a life?

Wen Qingling said, “If possible, you can recruit some plant or wood-based ability users to accelerate the maturation of crops.”

Everyone felt like they were living in a dream. Just the thought of a self-sufficient and peaceful life made them want to shed tears. If they could really live that way, what’s the point of talking about percentages? Even if they gave Lord Wen a hundred percent, so what?

Someone murmured, “Can we really live that kind of life?”

They had lived like savages for too long. If they didn’t go out hunting, they would go hungry. If they didn’t collect supplies, they would go hungry.

Seeing their longing faces, Wen Qingling decided to broaden their horizons and also bring the horde of zombies from Xiang County back to the civilized city.

As soon as Chang Boheng heard that Lord Wen wanted to take them to see the planting area outside the civilized city, he immediately organized a group of people to observe and learn. When he heard that Lord Wen wanted to bring the zombies from Xiang County to the civilized city, he left a few trusted subordinates behind to organize the move. Then, he let the earth-based ability users prepare and get ready to build the city walls outside Xiang County.

The group of people drove to the civilized city. When they passed the majestic city wall, they couldn’t help but be envious. After the convoy entered the city gate, they saw a scene of golden abundance. People were busy harvesting, transporting, and loading, and there were grains everywhere, a lot of them.

The people from the Xiang County base were completely stunned. The scene of busy farming in front of them seemed like an illusion, too unreal. They didn’t know if what they were seeing was fake or if the bloody and brutal post-apocalyptic life they had been living was fake. They were in a daze, walking towards the fields and picking up a large ear of wheat, lost in their thoughts.

Wen Qingling spoke up to bring them back to reality. “Don’t envy. Once your planting area is built, you will also have a bountiful harvest.”

Chang Boheng was the first to regain his senses. His expression was solemn, his gaze determined. “I will do my best to build the Xiang County base well and not let Lord Wen down.”

Wen Qingling: “???”

It’s not even his base, why would he be disappointed? At most, he just won’t receive tribute.

The people outside could only stop at the entrance of the outer city. After letting them see the bountiful harvest, Wen Qingling sent them back. Before leaving, Chang Boheng asked Wen Qingling for a sheaf of wheat and rice, took a few corn stalks, and also grabbed a handful of bean plants before returning.

He wanted the people from the Xiang County base to see that their good days were approaching. If they worked together to manage the base well and develop the planting area, having enough food for everyone wouldn’t be just a dream.

With Lord Wen dispersing the horde of zombies, they no longer had to worry about being attacked while doing agricultural work. They could boldly venture out of the base.